September 13, 2011: Pickle Day/Peanut Day
Food of the Day:  One-Year Goal
Day: #69

Making peanut butter sandwiches was an easy way — if not terribly exciting way — to celebrate Peanut Day. Emily added pear butter to her peanut butter sandwich (see pretty picture-above)

I added jelly…

I really wanted to make fried pickles, but the day “tempus fugit” and I never got around to frying up any pickles.  These are not my fried pickles but I wish there were my fried pickles.

I wondered if perhaps Cole would try a pickled peanut butter sammie, but he pondered politely, and preferred his pickles and his peanut butter to be served in a perfunctory manner (translates to: NO!).

Unusual pairings: Sports and the Chicago Waldorf School. . .Let’s muse shall we….

 

In the beginning . . .

Waldorf parents believed the school sports schedule would be correct, the school calendar would be accurate, sporting events would be held at the listed time, and the coach would stay in touch.

We were so wrong.

So, over time, the parents of Waldorf players formed their own sports team.

When we were rookies, we would leave home with the intended goal of meeting the school team after school at the time and location listed on the sports schedule, but when we arrived, the team, coach, and bus would be nowhere to be found. At this point, we began to learn our positions and how to play to our strengths.

Parents playing defense: Tried to reach someone at the school. Dealing with unanswered phones, voice mails, and dropped calls.

Parents playing offense: Tried to reach a player. Dealing with cell phones that magically turn off when a parent dials them.

Home team parents: Fielded calls from angry, accusing spouses who naturally assumed they had been given incorrect information from the other spouse.

Parent referees: Kept parents calm when the school sacked them with, “We have no idea the where the team is,” “Well, yes they must have left the school . . . the bus keys are not in the drawer,” “The school calendar says you are at the right location,” and “No, we don’t have the coach’s cell phone number. Could I leave a message for him?.”

Goals were scored when a parent located an e-mail with the coaches cell phone number; a parent convinced a friend of a friend of her kids to call him so he would pick up and be told to call her back; and a parent reached someone at a school in our league, asked them to check their school calendar, and figured out where the team was playing (this play was considered one of our finest plays of all time. Don’t worry if you don’t understand just accept that it was brillent).

When the team was located, parents called other parents to let them know before they arrived at the wrong location as they raced to their vehicles to drive off to the new location. Parents would usually make it within 15 minutes of when the game was scheduled to start, but suffer a setback when they were told the game was really starting at 5.30 p.m. instead of 4.30 p.m. The coach took it in stride, while the parents arranged interceptions for siblings that needed to be picked up, punted appointments forward to new days, and tackled spouses that had evening plans.

While the game is played on the field, parents huddled together on the grass; keeping one eye on the field and yelling, “Great Play!!” and “Get um” while reviewing their game strategies for upcoming games. Plays include: confirming the game schedule and reconfirming it the day of the game, threatening kids with being stampeded by a group of angry moms if there cell phones are not turned on and answered, bribing the bus drivers for an exchange of telephone numbers-rookie parents are in charge of snack.

It’s been about five years since I joined the school’s parent sports team. The Waldorf sports program has gone through many changes, some for better some for worse, but team parent has stayed strong and won the gold most years. Sometimes we also place bets on sports at https://uk.mansionbet.com/sports/greyhounds/.

Peanuts, Pickles, Sports….musing is always more fun when you leave a comment….Odd Loves Company!!

♥
Kb